GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's volleyball team have moved on to the South Atlantic Conference Championship semifinals for the first time since 2013 after defeating Catawba on Tuesday (Nov. 16) night. The Pioneers also had their best hitting percentage as a team (.393) since 2014 and their first 20-win season in eight years.
The Black and Orange (20-4) swept the Catawba Indians (11-14) by scores of 25-19, 25-17, 25-13.
Catawba was led by eight kills from Allison Bryant, just ahead of Raytchelle Miranda. Dara Kane was responsible for 11 assists, followed by eight from Payton Medich. Libero Kary Hales finished with a team-best five digs. Ashley Johnson and Arianna Colon had their hands in the majority of Catawba's blocks with five and four, respectively.
Three Pioneers reached double-figures in the kill column: Raeley Matthews (13), Emiah Burrowes (13), and Carli Pigza (10). Emma Johnson was close behind with seven. All four hit over .300, led by Pigza's .600. Elise Carmichael and Catherine Clingan were fairly even on the assists totals, dishing out 25 and 22, respectively. Clingan (2), Matthews (2), and Burrowes landed the Pioneers' five service aces.
Carly Sosnowski surpassed 1,000 digs in her short TU career, aided by a match-high 12 digs. Matthews was next with seven, one ahead of Burrowes. At the net, Johnson assisted in two blocks, as did Raven Chance. Matthews is credited with the only solo block for Tusculum.
Catawba hit .160 as a team with 26 kills and 13 errors in 81 total attempts. Tusculum hit .393 with 49 kills, 14 errors, and 89 total attacks. The Pioneers led the match in assists (48-24), aces (5-0), and digs (37-24), while the Indians had the advantage in total blocks (8-4).
Tusculum set the tone of the evening by winning the first four points of the match. However, a 9-2 run by Catawba did cause some pause. A Pigza kill followed by a Matthews ace put the Pioneers in front 14-12, a lead which they never relent. TU used a five-point spurt to put the frame out of reach. The Catawba Indians did fight off one set-point, but an unforced error earned TU a 1-0 match lead.
Set two was also closely contested at the beginning as the teams traded points until the 14-14 tie. Tusculum proceeded to go on a 10-3 stretch to close out the frame. Johnson began the run via a Clingan pass, followed by Burrowes' ace. Matthews tallied four kills, including the clinching point on a Carmichael assist.
The final frame was never in doubt, as Tusculum controlled beginning to end. The biggest blow was a six-score run, extending the Pioneer advantage to 15-5. The span was evenly balanced with the six kills coming from five players: Johnson, Matthews, Chance (2), Pigza, and Burrowes. Matthews notched the 23rd point, followed by a Catawba error and a thunderous kill by Burrowes to finish the night.
Top-seeded Tusculum will face No. 4 seed Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday (Nov. 19) for a spot in the title match. The semifinal will take place at the Rock Hill Sport and Event Center in South Carolina. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m.
